Morning journal and courier., 1887-01-20
sOUlErY IN WYOMING.
MT. Patten's Fancy Dress Ball
 Brought to a sudden Hut Not UR-

MT. Patten'S Fancy Dress B1!i
 Brought to a sudden Hut Not Un-
 timely sud.
 Lander Letter to the San Francisco Examiner.i
 There are two entirely separate grades of society in this place, divided by a hard and fast line which is never known to be broken except one occasion, and that is at fancy dress ball. The top society
 here is composed of the following parts gwen in a sort of descending scale: Cat tlelnen, store and hotel keepers, the wagon builder, the blacksmith and the editor of tue Corkscrew, with parasitical following in the counter jumpers of the stores, one printer of the o1kscrew and few privi- legged grangers, whose eligibility has been regulated by the extent uf their income Such is the high court of Lander, which feels itself considerably disgraced ordi- nary occasion by being found in company with the common herd of saloon keepers, cowboys, half breeds and gamblers. The common herd takes satisfaction for this in turning in on itself and looking down on 8 large contingent, which may be ciassed un
 der the one head of ''Whiskey Bums," and
 these have only the poor consolation ot looking down on themselves between udIvldusl aud individual.
 Mr. Patten's assortment was very full
 and varied, as it represented the total
 wardrobe of theatrical troupe which had come to grief in these parts. The spacious hall of the skating rink. brilliantly lighted
 with eight coal-oil lamps, badly trimmed; the strains of delightful music proceeding from an accordion, fiddle and cornet, whose players, even at this early stage of the proceedings, were showing signs of ex- treme weariness Then the brilliant array of fashion and beauty footing it round on the floor, and tantalizingly masked and dressed in every imaginable costume which could be rung i'll to serve for the occasion,
 from the simple but tasteful red flannel suit of underclothes to the specially made costume representing female jockey and resplendent in large gold horseshoes which adorned the fair wife of our most promi- nent cattleman. In this great carnival the trespassing of one sex on the dress of the other was quite admissible and Jim Bar wood, the renowned faro dealer, attired in all the simple elegance of @ Mother Hub bard costume, which refused to meet at the back by several inches and raised up
 to all almost indecent height in front by
 having so much of the length taken up to accommodate itself to the rise and fall of that part of his body which obstructed his view of his feet, greatly admired.
 At twelve o'clock we all proceeded, having first secured lady apiece, to walk her out of the hall across the street and about three blocks down it to supper through snow about u again to keep it up till daylight, only that now the order was given to unmask for tine rest of the evening. A prominent visiting
 lawyer proceeded to dance the can-can dur ing the progress of one of the quadrilles, and most of the quiet people were thinking it about time to repair to their homes, when
 the whole bu mess was brought to 8 termi- nation with little sensation.
 About year before this very common thing happened-a gambler murdered his partner. The law immediately seized him
 and as soon let him go again on the produc- tion of one thousand dollars bonds to wait for his trial, get away or please himself en- tirely what he did. As his trial was not likely to come off for year or two he deci- ded to remain on the scene, and chose this night to bring himself once more before the notice of the public-i -interest in him having rather died out. It was about three in the morning when the aforesaid murderer, with six shooter in each hand and string of ] oaths, stepped into the middle of the hall and said he had come to clean the floor, a. he wanted the show to himself for little while. Perhaps there were one hundred and | fifty people lett when he appeared, and the l door was narrow, but when the noise of the | first shot, with the crash of broken glass from several lamp chimneys fell upon the l crowd, 1t seemed but about the work of a | couple of seconds before he was master of | the situation. This naturally concluded the l evenings entertainments, aud the ladies hay | ing been fired into their diffe ent domiciles, | and the men sitting down to various games of | poker, Lander society once more settled down | to it's normal condition.